The Nationals have optioned struggling left-hander John Lannan to Class AA Harrisburg, a surprise demotion for the man who started Opening Day each of the last two seasons.

Lannan, 2-5 with a 5.76 ERA, had a 10.38 ERA over his last three starts but insisted his arm felt fine after dealing with elbow issues last month. The Nats elected to send him all the way to Harrisburg instead of Class AAA Syracuse, manager Jim Riggleman said, because of his familiarity and previous work with Senators pitching coach Randy Tomlin.

Reliever Joel Peralta was promoted from Syracuse to take Lannan's roster spot and will be available to pitch out of an eight-man bullpen tonight. To make room on the 40-man roster for Peralta, the club transferred pitcher Garrett Mock from the 15-day DL to the 60-day DL.

Ross Detwiler also has been re-instated from the 60-day DL, but the left-hander has been optioned to Harrisburg, where he'll continue to work his way back from hip surgery. He could join the Nats' rotation at some point, but Riggleman said he likely wouldn't be the immediate replacement for Lannan.

The Nationals won't need another starter until next Tuesday in Atlanta. Craig Stammen, who has pitched well at Syracuse since hisRead more »

As much as I like Lannan, this move had to be made, although I expected a move to the DL with "shoulder stiffness" or something like that. This demotion should send a clear message that if you can't get the job done, you're gone.I would've loved to have been a fly on the wall when Rizzo told Riggs about this move.

Riggs must be crying in his office. He would not be able to go out in public if Rizzo DFA'ed his two boys as well as shipping Lannan out…..I REALLY WISH RIZZO HAD DONE IT!…..Team needs to be shaken out of its Riggs induced sense of security and complacency….Riggs thinks .400 baseball is a good year.

Best wishes to Lannan–a lot of folks have been ready to throw him under the bus, but he's been solid for the past 2 years and I hope can get back to that.And to clarify: so this means they're going to try to get by with a 4-man rotation for the next week? They can do it with SS starting every 5th day and a day off later this week, but then don't have another day off til Monday the 5th. So they'll need a 5th starter by late next week. Any guesses as to who that will be?

AA vs.AAA for Lannan? The pitching coach in Harrisburg : Tomlinson according to Ben Goessling. Lannan is "funny" about catchers (see Nieves over Pudge) and pitching coaches. Greg Booker apparently is very, very good in Syracuse but Lannan isn't familiar with him.

Riggleman: 134 games under .500 when he replaced Acta. 139 under at the end of 2009. 147 under now, in more than 1200 games. Who ever thought (except the Nats "brain trust")that he could ever manage a winner? If you read the player comments, you know that both Harris and Kennedy are disgruntled, in spite of being Riggleman favorites, and both have become drags on the team. When you have Morgan-Guzman batting 1-2 and Nieves-pitcher batting 8-9, none of whom can bunt, it all adds up to a third 100-loss season in a row,

I also wish Lannan well, and I feel for him. As HHover notes, he soldiered on and regularly took the ball through some of our worst times. Hope that he, the coaches, or (worst case?) the docs can work it out in Harrisburg. Good luck, Johnny!

HHover, I agree with you BUT this happens all over pro sports.I remember before the season started that Lannan dumped his agent that brought him to the big leagues and replaced him with representation at CAA. Do you think John got a little too full of himself?If he can re-gain his control and arsenal of pitches, he will have a good shot of coming back.John had a mixed bag of stats but always maintained a decent ERA and W/L percentage. That all turned. Clearly he needs to re-find himself.I wish him the best of luck.This along with Justin Maxwell have been 2 of the more embarassing sticking by your guys as clearly management gave these guys every opportunity and they let management down not the other way around.Mark's comments about Stammen are interesting as can we really believe he re-found himself so quickly?

Peralta has deserved this call up for a long time now. Now you no longer have to rely exclusively in Capps. Both Storen and Peralta have experience as closers. Its a message to Capps as well as Lannan and the starters. Peralta had 20 saves in Syracuse just like Capps.In Syracuse I suppose they will use Severino and MacDougal as closers. With help from Wilkie?

Batista is staying and will make spot starts until Ross D is ready. Harris is toast as is Kennedy. Morgan will be traded by July 31. Roger B is the center fielder on the 2011 team.Unless you think Boomer Whiting can cut it Morgan stays … until Eury Perez is ready. He likely replaces Willie Harris as the utility outfielder. But ye its likely the outfield will change. Kennedy stays, he hasn't really been given any real chance because of Riggleman's obsession with getting Guzman (a free agent after this year) at bats? What is Riggleman thinking? If he can, Rizzo will trade Dunn to the Rays or someone similar for MLB ready outfield prospects in AAA / AA. Those will be thrown into the outfield mix. Willingham moves to first base.

Matt Chico is lined up for the 29th (when the team would need a replacement) for what it's worth. Taking Ross off the 60-day DL could be a signal that he'll be ready to go. If it is Ross, they probably do let a position player go so they have an extra arm. Rizzo seems to make moves in bunches so this may not be the end of the roster shuffling. Six straight losses is unacceptable.

Woohoo! This is great news Mark, is it surprising in the way you paint it…NO, he stinks, he like Mike O'Connor will never be seen in a Nats uniform again…or at least we can only hope. I hope Stammen gets the call he is much better than Lannan could dream of. I look for Detweiler to join the rotation by the break and he will replace Atilano and in about two weeks after that Wang will replace Martin so that we will have an acutal ML rotation…woohoo!

Batista is Rizzo's boy – and he is serviceable.Dunn has NOT been extended yet. Trade rumors are not out of the question.Morgan is in trouble, but I'm not sure he bounces. Would make Rizzo's trade last year rather mediocre. And I like Juan Pierre-lite off the bench.Willie Harris is in trouble because Gonzalez looks good as a guy off the bench. Maybe thats why harris pulls everything, so he can appear to have 'power' and be an asset for his bat.Second base is still a mess. Where are all the 'slow-dog' people out there. I know Hudson was injured but his stat line of .292/.362/.401 looks rather good and his defensive fielding % of .993 aint shabby either (even his saber fielding stats are 5 runs above average).

Batista's rubber arm is more valuable as a long reliever when our starter inevitably doesn't make it out of the 5th inning than as a spot starter. Sounds like Chico wins the lottery to start on the 29th. Unfortunately, to make room for him, it seems more likely that Bernadina or Morse gets optioned for a bit than that Harris or Kennedy gets DFA'd. Either that or Peralta's visit to Natstown is very temporary. Riggs hasn't used Slaten much lately either.

I have to believe Peralta is just up for a cup of coffee so we can carry an extra arm until we bring up the spot starter.I hope Stammen works his way back up for that start. Color me stupid, but I'd really like to see Craig back up here if his mechanics have improved.

A few things:1) Detwiler could be ready. He went 4 innings in his last start. He could go five on the 23rd and be ready to go five on the 28th for DC. (Next turn needed after the off day is like 29th or 30th I think).2) Bringing up Peralta is kind of a placeholder move and to me suggests that he will be sent back down relatively quickly. Peralta suggests that they are bringing up a veteran as a placeholder for the rotation guy who will ultimately fill in the spot, Detwiler or Stammen most likely. Otherwise, I'd rather have seen a younger guy like Severino or Wilkie.3) I have no problem with Riggles. He's going to be positive about his guys at all times in the media and Rizzo will make the tough calls to do what's necessary for the club. I don't like all of his in game decisions or lineup choices, but I realize that's part of rooting for any team. He's going to be loyal to his guys and stick up for them a little past what we'd like to see as non present in the clubhouse fans, but in the long run, you hope that inspires guys to win his trust. I know it's tough for guys like Morse and Kennedy to be patient when they see how others are struggling, but you hope that if they earn a chance they will be given an extended time to show their talents as well.

"There you go. Rizzo overruled Riggleman to make the right decision."More like Riggleman was forced to answer the question in his press conference yesterday either before the decision was made, or before he was informed of it. A manager never has the final call on who's on the roster. He knows it's not his decision. But if asked a question about a player who's currently on the roster as far as he knows, he's always got to answer as if that's going to continue to be the case going forward. To do otherwise would be to undermine the player, and that's bad managing.In short, Riggleman was not undermined or overruled in any way.

Unfortunately, to make room for him, it seems more likely that Bernadina or Morse gets optioned for a bit than that Harris or Kennedy gets DFA'd. Either that or Peralta's visit to Natstown is very temporary. Riggs hasn't used Slaten much lately either.Yeah, 222, your logic is pretty flawless. Still, there is another possibility? AG is not a Riggles favorite even though he is having a good year both at bat and in the field? I think he is an option as well. Harris looks most like a good choice. They can find better fielders in the minors. His batting average is .150's. He is having a terrible year? Harris should not play the infield as long as Kennedy and Gonzalez are around? Harris really shouldn't be in the outfield because of his bat and the terrible time he had in right field … but he is very much a Riggles favorite. Batista's rubber arm often means home runs and even 2 or 3 grand slams with men on? I'm not sure his rubber arm is as "rubbery" as you think it is. Personally, I'd rather see Livan and his bugs bunny curve come in.

No way the team goes to a 13-man pitching staff. Rizzo is asking for a riot if either Bernadina or Morse is demoted for Chico or whoever the next fifth starter is. Yes, Peralta's stay could be temporary, or the ax is about to fall on Batista or Walker next. Wouldn't be surprised, however, if Rizzo is looking to trade some of the surplus arms.

For the record, I did not want to make the assumption that the anonymous poster was a man, which is why I said "son" or "daughter." I'm not sure why I feel the need to explain that to an anonymous poster, particularly one who is making erroneous assumptions about me, but there you are. Have a super nice day, Mr./Ms. Anonymous.

I'm taking the au contraire position: I think Lannan is toast. He'll be a September call-up, but that's all. His so-called "stuff" always baffled me. Just seemed like a junk-baller who got away with a lot of pitching errors. This demotioin will crash his confidence, plus he may have arm woes. He's the Bally Star of 2010.The bigger issue here is Riggs. I'm in the tank for the guy, but his comments yesterday ("We give John a long leash.") clearly show he's out of the loop when it comes to personnel. This was clearly another case of Rizzo becoming "just tired of watching him," as he was with Daniel Cabrera.If Riggs were tight with Rizzo, he clearly would have chosen his words better.That erosion of Riggs' power would seem to me to spell the end of a lot of rot on this team: Harris, Kennedy, Guzman, Gonzo, et al. And would somebody, anybody, please explain how on God's green earth that Wil Nieves is still cashing a major league check. Who? Wil Nieves.Morgan just made his best catch of 2010, but I say he's on thin ice too. With Morse hitting like he is, he's got to play in right and move Bernie to center. Make Morgan the first OF off the bench, the Willie Harris Memorial Chair.

THIS WAS WRITTEN EARLIER ON MARK'S EARLIER POST:Steve M. said… Almost Everyone commenting in the Nats Blogosphere sees Lannan and has posted a polar opposite opinion of him to Jim Riggleman.This team has to shake it up and as they say, "Lannan aint cutting it". Lannan was never an Ace in a real baseball person's eyes. He was a #4 starter thrust to the top of the rotation because the rotation was so weak. That doesn't make you and Ace just the #1 starter and the 2 are not the same.The only reason Lannan has stayed is because of his W/L record and now that it is a L/W record he has to go figure it out in AAA.Sorry to be so harsh, but this team was moving ahead and just stalled. How do you get a stalled car to go? Either call the tow truck and send it in for repairs or figure it out on your own. The tow truck is hooked up to this team and it needs some repairs! June 21, 2010 2:02 PM So here's my take. Rizzo and StanK met this morning and made the right decision and informed Riggleman. The leash was pulled. The stats spoke loudly. They took the corrective action when the tow truck arrived.

I don't think it's at all clear Riggleman is out of the loop. The point has been made elsewhere, but what do you expect him to say? It was straight out of the game, and for all we know, the decision wasn't made until lunchtime today. I think it's highly unlikely Rizzo would not consult with Riggleman.